Saturday, November 12, 2011

CORPORATE ARROGANCE

It appears to me that revolution, mild it might be, is at hand. The Occupy Wall Street movement has taken on multiple issues and at least some parts of Corporate America are shaking in their boots. I was emailed several videos of people trying to close their accounts at Bank of America, 700,000 of them according to this source. In the 1940′s the cops would have sided with the business owner. Not, now! They have been enlightened. And it made me happy to see it. The video’s are quite amazing and can be seen at this address:http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/11/11/1035479/-Ten-stories-of-people-moving-their-money,-despite-bank-efforts-to-stopthem?
I have my own weird story of Bank of America and why I won’t bank with them. In the 1980′s I had a grocery store. B of A was located 9 miles from my business. We had no bank in Murphys at the time. I went to the Bank for change as soon as their drive up window opened because the Clampers were in town and I figured I needed more change. I was refused because the drive-up window was not allowed to give me $100 in change. They gave me change for a twenty. Anything bigger, I was told to come back when the main door of the bank opened, which would be after my business opened. They were unrelenting.
I closed my account with B of A. The second incident involved a tenant in the mid 1990′s. At the time I had a low-cost rental, $500 a month. I kept collection boxes in several Arnold businesses to take in Christmas cards after the holidays which I then delivered to St. Judes Ranch for Abused Children once a year. My renter had given me a check, she was a customer of B of A, had never bounced a check nor ever paid her rent late, not once in five years. Since I was picking up cards, I cashed my check from her while I was in the bank. After all, my tenant was their customer, why wouldn’t they? The second time I went to pick up cards, they wanted my fingerprint. I was aghast. “You want my fingerprint to cash a check from your customer who has an account at this branch?” That was correct. I then asked, “What possible good would my fingerprint do you? Are you going to have my fingerprint analyzed before you give me the cash?” I was told no. Me: “Then why take my fingerprint? I will be gone with the cash and now what do you do if your customer does not have cash to cover it? What possible use would my fingerprint be to you?”
They simply repeated that it was policy and when I asked for the manager, they claimed she wasn’t available. I knew her and I knew she was in her office. Guess what? I ripped up the check and handed it to the teller. I told my tenant from then on, she was required to pay me in cash. Which she did. I have a short fuse for stupidity. I’m grateful we have Credit Unions and independent banks. The big banks are worse than thieves and insurance companies.